Mary Weatherholt advanced to the semifinals at the U.S. Open Playoffs.

Photo Courtesy Scott Bruhn/NU Media Relations

Courtesy: NU Media Relations

08/20/2012

Nebraska senior Mary Weatherholt advanced to the semifinals but was eliminated by Japan's Mayo Hibi at the 2012 U.S. Open National Playoffs Women's Singles Championships in New Haven, Conn., Aug. 19.

Weatherholt started the tournament strong defeating Texas A&M's Anna Mamalat in the first round 6-0, 6-1. Weatherholt continued her dominance in the quarterfinals with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 victory over Russia's Nika Kukharchuk, who is ranked No. 466 in the world.

During an impressive semifinal match against the No. 408th-ranked Hibi, Weatherholt dropped the first set 5-7, then suffered an abdominal injury late in the second set, but still won 6-3 to force a decisive third set. Weatherholt battled to a 4-4 tie in the third, before Hibi prevailed 6-4 to claim the match and advance to the final.

"We are very proud of Mary," Nebraska Assistant Coach Hayden Perez said. "She competed hard in a very challenging field and ultimately fell just short of making it into the U.S. Open Qualifying Draw, which is a great accomplishment in itself. If Mary can get her abdominal injury taken care of pretty soon, we believe she is coming into the fall in great form."